Family Life in Guanajuato City

The night life in Guanajuato is spectacular even for old fogies who don’t really want to party, but just to go out sometimes and be entertained by something other than TV. Our daughter came of age in Guanajuato and became a member of the estudiantinas there, a group of professional musicians and actors who go through the callejones doing “callejoneadas” or theatrical acts. She was out late a lot after she turned 18 because she worked with this group. I was very glad that we could pick her up and bring her to her front door. I was also very glad that she could take a bus (not a taxi as young women really shouldn’t take taxis anywhere in Mexico alone if they can avoid it) and be dropped of just 1 minute from our front door. She would text us and tell us that she was on the bus home and we’d walk down to meet her at the bus stop in our pajamas because it was so close to our house (literally 20 steps from the front door).

The location of bus stops is important in Guanajuato City and having access to main streets where you can hail a cab is also important. This is true whether you’re single or living with other people. Buses and cabs are essential and they make it possible to live in the city very comfortably without owning a car. 

Lydian was 16 years old when we moved to Guanajuato and because there was public transportation, particularly buses that she could take throughout the city, it wasn’t necessary for her to drive a car. We felt like she was safer in Guanajuato as a teenager who was not out driving around at night, but she still got a tremendous amount of independence. Her musical skills were valued by the “Profe”, the leader of her estudiantina group and she got paid for her skill. As a parent, if you intend to bring your kids here to homeschool in Guanajuato City, pay close attention to bus stops because the public buses get more and more important as your kids get older.